The Meaning of the Veil in Iran Claire Eichhorn May 7, 2012
In the nearly 5,000 years as a country, Iran has been a country, it has had many different laws about the veil and hijab. The veil is an important part of hijab, which is acting and dressing modestly. In Islamic religion hijab is an important and meaningful tradition. “Hijab frees women from being thought of as sexual objects of desire or from being valued for their looks, or body shape rather than their minds and intellect” (Stacey). The religious meaning for the veil has become lost in the minds of many women today who only see the veil forced on them by the government. The memoir Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, Satrapi explains how the veil was misunderstood by many women. In the image to the right, Marji says “We didn’t really like to wear the veil, especially since we didn’t understand why we had to.” The women see the veil as something forced upon them, not a garment of religious meaning. The Quran, the book of the Islamic religion, never states that women are required to wear the veil (Amer). But Iran’s government still forces the veil upon their women.
In Iran’s history there have been many different laws about the veil. In 1936 Reza Shah, the first shah during the Pahlavi dynasty, ruled Iran. As shah he banned the wearing of the veil and tried to enforce European clothing on the Iranian people (Shilandari). Even though he had improved Iran in many other aspects, the banning of the veil made certain people angry. After the Pahlavi dynasty collapsed and the Islamic Republic was founded, women were forced to wear the veil (Shilandari). Many men and women protested against making all women wear the veil, including Satrapi’s family. In the image to the left, Marji goes to her first demonstration with her family. It is a big deal for her because she is finally old enough (in her mother’s eyes) to learn to stand up for what she believes. Protesting is one way for women to stand up for themselves, even though protest often end badly. Despite years of protests and demonstrations, the veil is still enforced in Iran.
Some believe that the veil has destroyed the opportunity for women in Iran to create their own identity. It's also believed that the Iranian government has reconstructed “a new identity for women according to Islamic definition of righteous women” (Shilandari). But not all women oppose the veil. Many still value the veil and “choose” to wear it for its religious purpose, not because they are forced to. The veil started as a simple religious garment that women could choose to wear and has turned into a tool for the government to control women. The veil has gone from simple and harmless to controlling and complex. Clearly the veil has made a larger effect on Iran than anyone thought a religious piece of clothing ever could and still continues to affect Iran today.
Claire Eichhorn
May 7, 2012
In the nearly 5,000 years as a country, Iran has been a country, it has had many different laws about the veil and hijab. The veil is an important part of hijab, which is acting and dressing modestly. In Islamic religion hijab is an important and meaningful tradition. “Hijab frees women from being thought of as sexual objects of desire or from being valued for their looks, or body shape rather than their minds and intellect” (Stacey). The religious meaning for the veil has become
lost in the minds of many women today who only see the veil forced on them by the government. The memoir Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, Satrapi explains how the veil was misunderstood by many women. In the image to the right, Marji says “We didn’t really like to wear the veil, especially since we didn’t understand why we had to.” The women see the veil as something forced upon them, not a garment of religious meaning. The Quran, the book of the Islamic religion, never states that women are required to wear the veil (Amer). But Iran’s government still forces the veil upon their women.
In Iran’s history there have been many different laws about the veil. In 1936 Reza Shah, the first shah during the Pahlavi dyn
asty, ruled Iran. As shah he banned the wearing of 
the veil and tried to enforce European clothing on the Iranian people (Shilandari). Even though he had improved Iran in many other aspects, the banning of the veil made certain people angry. After the Pahlavi dynasty collapsed and the Islamic Republic was founded, women were forced to wear the veil (Shilandari). Many men and women protested against making all women wear the veil, including Satrapi’s family. In the image to the left, Marji goes to her first demonstration with her family. It is a big deal for her because she is finally old enough (in her mother’s eyes) to learn to stand up for what she believes. Protesting is one way for women to stand up for themselves, even though protest often end badly. Despite years of protests and demonstrations, the veil is still enforced in Iran.
Some believe that the veil has destroyed the opportunity for women in Iran to create their own identity. It's also believed that the Iranian government has reconstructed “a new identity for women according to Islamic definition of righteous women” (Shilandari). But not all women oppose the veil. Many still value the veil and “choose” to wear it for its religious purpose, not because they are forced to. The veil started as a simple religious garment that women could choose to wear and has turned into a tool for the government to control women. The veil has gone from simple and harmless to controlling and complex. Clearly the veil has made a larger effect on Iran than anyone thought a religious piece of clothing ever could and still continues to affect Iran today.
Works Cited:
Amer, Sahar. "Uncovering the Meaning of the Veil in Islam." University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Web. <http://www.unc.edu/depts/europe/conferences/Veil2000/Veil-sa/veil_islam-amer.PDF>.
Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. New York. Pantheon, 2003.
Shilandari, Farah. "Iranian Woman: Veil and Identity. "A Forum on Human Rights and Democracy in Iran. 07 Sep 2010. Web. <http://www.gozaar.org/english/articles-en/Iranian-Woman-Veil-and-Identity.html>.
Stacey, Aisha. "Why Muslim Women Wear the Veil." The Religion of Islam. 15 Nov 2009. Web. <http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/2770/>.